While "total war" is a term usually applied to the First and Second World Wars, in his talk, Bartlett will suggest that the term might legitimately be applied to the earlier Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, notably in view of the area of operations, numbers enlisted on all sides, magnitude of battles, impact on civilians and disruption or distortion of national economies. Applying the term to Ireland's role in the wars between 1793 and 1815, he says, also helps to explain the transformation Ireland underwent during these years.